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On a home theater forum, I saw a picture of a whole house unit made by one of the major breaker manufactures. He had it opened up and inside were only 12 MOV's. I had expected more.
 
Speedskater said:
On a home theater forum, I saw a picture of a whole house unit made by one of the major breaker manufactures. He had it opened up and inside were only 12 MOV's. I had expected more.
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Depends on the size of the MOV's and number of modes protected. For a single phase service entrance all you need is two modes at 100 KA or more per 200 amp service. Any more modes than two in a single phase service entrance is a waste of materials and money. So 12 MOV's, 6 per mode can easily do the task. I would prefer both MOV's and SAD's for the speed, but just using MOV's is a decent design for most home applications.

Some of the best Whole House TVSS is offered by the utility. They simply come out and unplug your meter, plug in a collar, then put your meter back into the collar. Unfortunately the homeowner on his own, or you the electrician cannot install this equipment even though it as easy and simple as plugging in a toaster in a receptacle.
 
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Mike Holt once said (about SPDs or TVSS)
1. More is better
2. You get what you pay for.

IE a quality whole house unit and then point of use units
 
I know Siemens makes one that snaps in and looks exactly like a breaker. I have to wonder how much protection something that small could offer? I really don't know much about them though...
 
dereckbc said:
Depends on the size of the MOV's and number of modes protected. For a single phase service entrance all you need is two modes at 100 KA or more per 200 amp service. Any more modes than two in a single phase service entrance is a waste of materials and money. So 12 MOV's, 6 per mode can easily do the task. I would prefer both MOV's and SAD's for the speed, but just using MOV's is a decent design for most home applications.

Some of the best Whole House TVSS is offered by the utility. They simply come out and unplug your meter, plug in a collar, then put your meter back into the collar. Unfortunately the homeowner on his own, or you the electrician cannot install this equipment even though it as easy and simple as plugging in a toaster in a receptacle.
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I saw one of those. It had little lights on the side. Some were lit, some were not. A small label said to call when the lights are lit ( or maybe when they go out. I dont remember) who knows how long it was like that.
 
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